SGSC Drops 3-OT Thriller To Chattahoochee Tech

In one of the wildest games ever to be played on South Georgia State College’s Waycross Campus, SGSC and Chattahoochee Tech battled through three overtimes Saturday afternoon before the Golden Eagles escaped with a 114-111 win.

It didn’t look like the game would be that close at the beginning. The Golden Eagles jumped out quickly to an 18-5 lead in the first half and led by as many as 22 points before the Hawks (18-7, 6-5) generated a 20-3 run to trail 49-44 at halftime.

The Hawks didn’t take their first lead until 14:38 remaining in the second half on Zaquavian Smith’s three-pointer to put SGSC ahead 59-58.

The Hawks had a chance to win in regulation. With the score tied 94-94, SGSC had possession with 20.8 seconds remaining. Smith’s missed shot with 2.5 seconds left gave the Golden Eagles a chance to steal the win.

Coming out of three consecutive timeouts by Chattahoochee Tech, the Golden Eagles’ Malik Jordan missed a game-winning shot at the buzzer to force the first overtime.

The first extra period once again came down to the last shot. Following a Chattahoochee Tech miss with less than 10 seconds left and the score tied 100-100, O’Showen Williams drove the length of the court only to see his shot fall short at the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime.

The teams continued to battle with the lead never getting higher than two points at a time. Trailing 112-111 in the third overtime, SGSC’s Branielus Ross missed a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining, and the Golden Eagles capitalized. A Golden Eagle basket with 9.3 seconds left extended the lead to three points. Shaquille Williams missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, which would have forced another extra period.

Head coach Cory Baldwin said he is very proud of his team, especially how they never gave up.

“I was proud of our guys tonight,” he said. “We were down 22 points in the first half. It says a lot about our players to battle back, take the lead, and force three overtimes. I am also proud of our great fan base. They were here cheering and fighting with us.”

Four Hawks scored in double figures. Smith led all scorers with 28 points. Williams had 23 points, while Nate Louis finished with 18 points. D.J. Bryant rounded out the top scorers with 15 points.

The Hawks wrap up their current homestand Monday night at 7 p.m. against Atlanta Metro. General admission to all regular season home games is five dollars with children five and under admitted free.

South Georgia State College is a residential state college of the University System of Georgia focused on a core of strong teaching and personalized academic advising. It has a long and distinguished tradition of serving the people of Georgia. Students pursue associate degrees in 20 programs of study which transfer to other institutions or prepare them for careers in a variety of fields.